Unexpected Gifts
by pinkitten
Summary: Manuella Santos is about to have an abortion because she dosn't know what else to do. On the day of her procedure someone VERY close to her sends her a package that could change her life.


**From the author: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I know it might be short and ****choppy; I just wanted to know if anybody would be interested in reading it. Please ****review with constructive criticism and remember this is only my second time writing for ! Thank you and enjoy. P.S I only own the idea behind the story! **

**_Chapter One: Quiet homes that have so much to say_**

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**Manny sighed, knowing it would all be over soon. She knew it was wrong, she strongly **

**disapproved of abortion but she didn't know what else to do. She dug through her purse **

**and found her house key, opened her front door, and walked into her deserted home. **

**'It's so quiet' she thought as she stood in the foyer. It had been like this since the day **

**her papa disappeared. Her mama had to work extra hard to support herself and Manny **

**and pay college tuition for her older brother, Miguel as well. That was why she couldn't **

**keep this baby. Her mom was under enough stress already, and she knew that if she **

**had the baby there was no way she could give it up for adoption. Her mama had left it **

**up to her, but she knew this was what her mama wanted. Manny set her book-bag down **

**and walked over to picture of her family in the living room. It had been taken when **

**Manny was eleven, when everything was fine, before her papa had been killed, before **

**her brother had been in the car accident, before Manny became the 'slut' everyone **

**thought she was now. When people started asking where her papa was, Manny would **

**always do what her mother had asked her to do, she lied. She told them that her papa **

**and mama had gotten a divorce. Her mama had always told her that there family did **

**not need to be pitied, and so she did as she was asked. Manny set the picture down and **

**walked into the kitchen. Her mama had told her she had to work today, but she would **

**try to come home early to take her to the clinic. Just as she reached into the **

**refrigerator for a drink, the doorbell rang. Since everybody at school had found out **

**about her pregnancy, she was treated like she had a cold that nobody wanted to **

**catch, so she didn't know why anybody would be at her home. She slowly approached **

**the door and opened it. On the doorstep was small pink box that was addressed to her. **

**Manny looked up and down the street to see who had left it there, but could not see **

**anybody. 'That's strange' she thought, 'It doesn't have a return address'. With a little **

**hesitation, Manny picked up the box and brought it inside. She set it down on the **

**coffee table and opened it slowly. When she saw the contents she let out a small sob **

**and fell to the floor. Who would play such a cruel joke on somebody who was already **

**hurting so much inside? **

****

_Chapter Two: The Contents of a Mysterious Gift_

**After what seemed like hours of crying Manny wiped her eyes and sat up. 'I don't get **

**it' she said to herself, 'I know people hate me, but why would someone send a package **

**like that?' . Manny picked up the box and visually eyed the contents, after a moment **

**she decided she needed someone to be there with her when she went through the box. **

**She picked up her purse and found her cell-phone. Manny thought a moment about who **

**t****o call, then began dialing the familiar number. While it was ringing, Manny held her **

**breath. She didn't know if this person would talk to her or not. Sure Emma had stuck up **

**for her in front of Craig, but maybe she wouldn't want to help her again. Finally, ******

**someone picked up the phone. It was Mrs. Nelson. **

**_Mrs. Nelson- Hello? Simpson residence!_**

**_Manny- Hey Mrs. Nelson, it's Manny_**

**_Mrs. Nelson- Oh, hey Manny! I heard what your decision was from Emma and I just want to let you know that I respect it and I'll be there if you need me._**

**_Manny- Thanks; I need all the support I can get. That's kinda why I'm calling, is Emma around?_**

**_Mrs. Nelson- Yeah, she sure is! Let me go get her._**

**With that Mrs. Nelson put Manny on hold, and went to get Emma. ' Please God, I **

**really need Em right now, please let her be willing to come over!' Manny prayed as she **

**waited. After a few minutes there was a click on the other line.**

**_Emma- Manny, is everything ok? _**

**_Manny- Emma, I really need your help! When I got home from school, somebody rang _**

**_the doorbell and left a package on the step! I need your help going through it!_**

**_Emma- Is the package yours?_**

**_Manny- Of course! It had my name on it and my address but no return address._**

**_Emma- Alright, I'll be right there. And calm down, you could hurt yourself getting so _**

**_stressed out._**

**And with that she hung up. Manny decided to wait for Emma on the front steps, **

**knowing the fresh April air would do her some good. **

**While waiting on the steps,Manny watched as kids she used to be friends with walked **

**by. ****She wished she could make her old friends believe that she wasn't a slut and that **

**the ****first time she had sex was with Craig and that was the last time she had sex. **

**However, ****she knew that it was a lost cause. Everyone thought that she slept with Sully **

**and a lot ****of other guys in between Sully and Craig. Manny was so deep in thought **

**about this that ****she didn't notice Emma standing in front of her until she said her name. **

**_Manny- I'm sorry Emma I was just thinking that's all. Thanks for coming!_**

**_Emma- Manny, no matter how mad I am, I always will be here for you! Have a little faith in our friendship. _**

**Manny let the tears consume her and Emma sat down and held her until she stopped, **

**whispering that it would be ok until she had calmed down. When Manny finally felt **

**better, she gave Emma a hug and led her inside. Emma sat down on the couch and **

**Manny went to get the box. When Manny set the box down in front of Emma, she knew **

**her friend understood why she was so upset. **

**_Emma- O my GD Manny! What the hell?_**

**_Manny- I'm glad you understand! Now I can go through it._**

**Manny took a deep breath and picked up the first item in the box. It was a tiny pink **

**blanket, that was so soft Manny rubbed it against her face, but immediately she pulled **

**it away and dropped it. ****Emma who was watching quietly immediately jumped to **

**attention.**

**_Emma- Manny, what is it?_**

**Manny just continued to stare at the blanket so Emma asked again a little louder.**

**_Emma- MANNY, What is the matter?_**

**With that Manny picked up the blanket and held it under Emma's nose. **

**_Manny- Em, what does that smell like to you?_**

**Emma looked confused, but she took the blanket in her hands and smelt it. After a **

**second or two her eyes widened with surprise.**

**_Emma- That smells exactly like your perfume!_**

**Manny nodded her head.**

**_Emma- Creepy!_**

**Manny nodded her head again and then took the blanket back to inspect some more. **

**When she opened it up completely she noticed that it had Isabella stitched into it in **

**purple letters. **

**Manny looked at Emma. Manny and Emma both knew that Manny had always said if **

**she had a little girl, she would name her Isabella after her grandmother, Isabella **

**Santos. Manny knew this had to be a coincidence but she couldn't get over the fact that **

**it said Isabella. **

**_Emma- Why don't you keep looking? _**

**_Manny- Ok, here could you fold this for me._**

**Manny handed Emma the blanket and reached into the box. The next thing she pulled **

**out was a pair of baby booties. They were extremely small and they were purple. When **

**she looked closer, Manny saw that it had Eeyore on the tips. They were very cute. But **

**s****he couldn't figure out why someone was sending her baby shoes.**

**_Emma- What's up with the shoes?_**

**_Manny- I don't know, I don't know why anyone would send me this stuff. I'm going too _****_keep looking, ok?_**

**Emma nodded encouragingly and Manny once again stuck her hand into the box. She **

**pulled out a matching outfit to the shoes and when she set it down next to the booties **

**she realized that that outfit would be perfect for a newborn baby. It was absolutely **

**adorable, soft and small. Looking at the outfit made Manny's heart ache. She could **

**just imagine bringing home a baby in the outfit. Instead of having another meltdown, **

**Manny decided to finish looking. She put the box on her knees and peered inside. **

**There was a rattle, a bib that said Mommy's Princess with a pacifier attached to it, and **

**another smaller box. She picked it up and opened it up and almost immediately let out a **

**gasp and everything went black. **


End file.
